Green Jean

flores in fiber

2012-03-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

I also have potted up the flower seedlings into fiber pots
Marigolds:

and Cosmos:

Something about the new materials I'm using this year-the compressed fiber pots and seed-starter mix I assume- makes the inside of my coldframe smell like a greenhouse. It makes me feel like I'm moving up, doing something right, because I got the official smell of growing plants!

peas and peas and peas

2012-02-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I think I've outdone myself with the Peas here. I simply planted every single pea that came in the seed packet, and when time came to move them from trays into first pots I had a problem: not enough tubes! So for the first time ever I went to the store and bought biodegradable seedling fiber pots. I got fifty of the smallest size, forty of the next, and ten circular ones. And even that wasn't enough. I just have too many plants right now.

I counted them, after potting up all my Peas. A hundred and twenty. I'm happy to think I might realize my goal of blanching and freezing enough garden peas that we don't have to buy any before next growing season, but unsure if all the plants will fit in my space! I'm going to give them the entire kitchen-window bed, that runs the whole length of the house. Don't know if it will be enough.

They do look incredibly healthy, though. The color is wonderful, the leaves unspreading fast. I've weeded and turned over all the soil in their bed, so now just waiting for a sunny day to rake in compost, stake twigs and set the plants out!

baby tomatoes

2012-02-28T09:32:00.000-05:00

All my Tomato plants in the windowsill are doing well, growing very nicely. I have six cherry tomatoes, which is twice what I need, so after these grow larger (in regular kind of pots) I'll probably sell or swap the extra seedlings.

The other plants got mixed up when a tray fell off the sill earlier on (before they were in individual cardpots). So I wasn't sure which were the beefsteak and which the brandywine tomatoes. But I've never seen tomato plants without lobed leaves before. So I think the three with entire leaves are brandywines, as those tomatoes are new to me this year.

green fans

2012-02-23T11:16:00.000-05:00

The Daylilies are finally emerging!

And here come some early Tulips as well.

Spring is on the way!

crocus!

2012-02-23T11:13:00.000-05:00

My favorite purple Crocus are finally here. They've actually been blooming all week, but I only just barely got out to take a few photos.

more plants

2012-02-21T23:12:00.000-05:00

Spent the evening potting up more seedlings, after the girls were in bed.

Four Bell Pepper plants, in recycled plastic containers. That front left one was a little ice-cream cup from a fast food place.

A handful of Nasturtiums

I am rather sad that I didn't end up with many of these from my second planting. But a few have sprouted later than others- this one just came up a few days ago- so I've left the tray atop the fridge in case a few more are coaxed out by the warmth.

The seedlings in the herb tray were crowded, starved and leggy. Most had grown twisty

but I untangled them and planted the straightest ones. For the Marjoram my index finger made a perfect hole to sink each seedling into. I have two plastic pots of these (as you can see, using recycled cottage-cheese containers)

and one of Summer Savory. These were smaller plants; I made holes with an old chopstick to sink each leggy stem into.

The savory and marjoram seedlings look almost exactly alike, but the marjoram leaves are a bit broader. As I handled the teensy plants noticed that Marjoram has a distinct, sharp scent. It reminds me of those scented fruity markers.

Also a bunch of quite pathetic-looking Dill. I hope these survive and perk up!

I also have four tiny baby Brussel Sprouts seedlings! but can't get a decent pic yet, they're so small. They look a lot like broccoli (of course) just itty bitty.

Now there just remains a bunch of Marigolds and Cosmos in their seedling trays. They seem to be doing okay, but I'll probably pot those up too very soon. Also a tiny tray of Chives and Oregano got knocked off the windowsill; I lost the chives but think I saved the oregano...

new peas

2012-02-19T22:16:00.000-05:00

My second lot of Pea seedlings are coming up! Tons and tons of little teeny green shoots. I planted the entire seed packet- so there are two very full trays and three bunches (at least a dozen in each) full of sown cardpots.

So happy. My plan is to have enough peas to blanche and freeze some for future use. If my daughter doesn't eat them all straight out of the garden. She loves them fresh-picked, raw.

brussel beginning

2012-02-18T10:17:00.000-05:00

I started a bit more seed today. Brussel sprouts, which I got from my seed swap with Chris. Are they seed you gathered yourself, Chris? That's even more awesome!

croton

2012-02-17T10:36:00.001-05:00

I have not been doing well by my fiery Croton plant. Ever since I got it, it has been steadily dropping leaves. They loose their shine, get brittle and dry, fall off at the slightest bump.

I was despairing to ever find it a suitable spot where it was happy, or figure out its watering particularities. Then did more reading online and the consensus seems to be that crotons are very hardy, but also temperamental. They resist change, but will settle in if you give them time.

Mine does have a few tiny sprouts of new leaves. I take this as a sign it will recover and live.

pics

2012-02-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

to compliment yesterday's post.

Cherry Tomatoes:

Broccoli:

Simpson Lettuce:

some failures

2012-02-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

I started it all too soon, this year. I should have remembered, january is time for planning, for hoping. Not for planting yet. Dig some weeds out, turn the soil over, let it sit and ready itself on those warm spring-like days. But I did very little of that. I've only weeded clear two spots out in the garden, and they're not where the earliest crops will go (lettuce, broccoli, peas). I've turned nothing over yet, nor added any compost.... and I have all these desperate seedlings in my windowsills, where there's not quite enough daylight yet. The few lamps are overcrowded. I lost my Tithonia and Nasturtiums to the cold- they were out in the coldframe and I forgot to bring them in the same night it snowed.

So I've started over, with the Nasturtiums at least. Four new seedlings in that tray already. I've been busy the past few days potting up some stuff- all my Tomatoes are now in cardpots in the mudroom windows, where the best light is. All the Simpson Lettuce are in cardpots too, happy in the coldframe, and a dozen of the best Broccoli seedlings. I also potted up some Peppers into my smallest pots- because for once I ran out of cardboard tubes to use. I hadn't hoarded enough of those over the winter. They look so teensy in there, but needed to get moved.

Because I realized something about using seed-starter mix. It is so sterilized, there are very few nutrients in there for the plants. You either have to give them liquid food (which I don't have) or transplant them into a regular potting soil very soon after they come up. The little plants look too fragile to move yet, but they also don't seem to be growing as quickly as they should. I keep forgetting to transplant them, because I'm in the habit from past years of leaving them in their seedling trays until they're nice and sturdy. It's been enough of a bother that I wonder if I'll use the stuff next year. Yes, I got almost a hundred percent germination- now I have more tomatoes and peppers than I'll be able to use, because I'm used to only a half or two-thirds coming up- but now I'm troubled to get the seedlings into proper pots quickly enough...

Oh, and I started over with Peas too, just yesterday:

I've set up the plastic box thing from last year, over a bed of bricks (to keep the young plants away from drafts at the bottom, at least for starters) so on sunny days these myriad seedlings can go outside and get enough light. I just have to be careful to remember to bring them in at night, until it's warmer.

freezing

2012-02-11T22:38:00.000-05:00

I should have listened to A. He reminded me that february is always our coldest month. But I was beguiled by the springlike weather and started planting anyways. A few nights ago we had a hard frost, then a drifting of snow, and tonight the wind is blasting shrieks around the house. My garlics are well-tucked in with an extra layer of leaf mulch, and the rhubarb still covered with glass cloches and leaves, but I was rash and uncovered the Strawberry patch.

I do hope they survive.

more jades

2012-02-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

One of the older Jade cuttings starting to look quite top-heavy

so I decided to pinch it back and encourage a stouter base.

I ended up with quite a few leaves that could easily be rooted but didn't bother this time.

Really, who needs more than fourteen jade plants? which is what I've got now, and it seems far too many. I like looking at the bold green little forest, though.

more seedlings

2012-02-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

More stuff came up overnight. Now have Beefsteak and Brandywine tomatoes, also Chives, Oregano, Basil and Ancho Peppers sprouting. My windowsills are getting crowded. The fast-growing Nasturtiums have been moved up to cardpots, and now stay outside in the coldframe, even overnight. Some of the other larger seedlings (tithonia and cosmos) I set outside on the shelf when its sunny.

sprouting

2012-02-07T16:06:00.000-05:00

My Cherry Tomatoes are sprouting in their tray! Also some of the new herbs- Marjoram and Summer Savory, I think. Teensy. Thus no photo. I planted another tray of Nasturtiums also, I do love them so they make me cheerful and my daughter likes to bite and sip the nectar. She calls them "honey flower".

bread!

2012-02-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

I have made Jenna's bread. I'm feeling pretty pleased with it! It's a very simple recipe, just flour, salt and yeast. Rises twice, gets folded over on itself a few times, thrown in the oven and that's it. I was happy my fam all loved it, they were very impressed and want more! I was a bit concerned that I don't have a standing mixer to use, but figured if people have been making bread for centuries without mixes, surely I can. And I've made pie crust without it, many times. So I just used arm power to stir the dough. It worked fine.

My one hangup was that when the dough raised overnight (in a slightly warmed oven, because my kitchen is rather cool) it got stuck to the towel and then sank back down. I think next time I might put plastic wrap over it.

and maybe grease the bowl, too

Yum!

seedling progress

2012-02-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

The little Onions are growing quickly! a teensy forest of grass

And look at the lovely Nasturtiums. They're bending because my light source wasn't enough for them, so I've put them outside in the coldframe. I hope it's not too chilly. I'm checking on them frequently; if they show signs of stress from the temperature change I'll bring them back inside.

I've also got Tithonia, Marigolds and Cosmos just sprouting. I don't think the Peas are going to grow. Last year when I tried to direct sow them outside, nothing ever came up. I think the seed is just too old and not viable anymore. Peas only keep well for about two years.

sprouting

2012-02-03T09:47:00.002-05:00

The green onions (also called scallions or bunching onions) are up! I have eighteen teensy little threads of plants in this tray. My husband is already anticipating enchiladas made with garden-fresh onions.

And here are the Nasturtiums sprouting! I never started nasturtiums inside, before, and always got frustrated when most didn't grow. Hopefully they do better this way.

By the way, my attempt at sprouting orange seed failed. None of them grew roots, only mold. Discarded.

more seed

2012-02-03T09:39:00.004-05:00

Started more seed yesterday. I planted in various trays: more cilantro, pink cosmos mix, oregano, basil, chives, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and brandywine tomatoes, bell peppers, ancho peppers, a hot pepper mix, summer savory, sweet marjoram, marigolds and tithonia.

I was curious to see that the pink Cosmos seed looked smaller, shorter than my orange cosmos seed. They don't have the long 'tails' I'm used to seeing.

The top of my fridge (near a heat vent) is quite crowded now, but I hope the peas sprout in a few days, and then there will be a bit more space.

What's left to plant? Okra and wheat grass (for the kitties). The ones that do better direct-down outside: carrots, beets, swiss chard, borage (supposedly). All the heat-loving plants that grow quickly: beans, cucumber, cantaloupe, zucchini, pumpkin. I think that will be it!

herbs

2012-02-02T21:32:00.001-05:00

There were just enough coffee grounds left to sprinkle some among the herb bed, after I'd done the chore of clearing out the weeds. Here's the three main plants, the Rosemary and Lavender I grew from cuttings, and my two-year-old Thyme from seed.

Nearby are four Parsley plants simply bursting with growth (from my mom's seed) and off to the side the Sage (from neighbor's cutting).

I love the blue-green and violet shade of the Sage foliage.

My little Oregano survived, but it looks so tiny.

The Lemon Balm is coming back, too.

I can see signs of the other Mints growing as well, but they're already reaching searching stems out over the sunken pot rims. I'm going to have to dig those up and keep them just in pots, after all. Don't want them taking over the herb bed, especially when I plan to add so much to it this year- majoram, summer savory, borage, cilantro and basil, chives and shallots...

black on green

2012-02-02T21:24:00.001-05:00

I have a new source of richness for the garden- coffee grounds! Not just the ones from my household, which are very few, but from several coffehouses in our neighborhood. I've made arrangements to pick up their used grounds twice a week. The first haul was enough to give my recently-uncovered strawberry bed a half inch of soft black mulch. I don't know if any slugs are out yet, but this will certainly keep them away! it's less work than tending beer traps, feeds the plants as well, and smells nice to boot.

I realized it's probably what kept my carrots safe the years before. Last year they got carrot fly (or some other pest) pretty bad, and most were rotted to pieces. The years before I had been scattering our coffee grounds on the carrot bed every week or so. I didn't realize how much good that was doing until I neglected to do it last year, and lost most of my carrots. Read in a gardening book that any strong-smelling herb planted among carrots, like lavender, will keep the pests away, but I bet the black grounds were doing the same job.

I had company while uncovering and re-mulching the Strawberry bed (there were very few weeds). The baby was quite happy to watch from her exer-saucer set nearby on the grass (she's thrown off her hat, of course).

dream 4

2012-02-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

We've had a very mild winter, only one day of snow flurries, and now in february it's already quite warm. But in my dream last night it is snowing outside. I look out the mudroom window, and there's a row of small shrubs planted across the driveway, where I intend to cut it off and grow stuff, making the entire driveway shorter. Everything is gloomy under the overcast sky, and dusted with white, that surreal look that snow can cause. My daughter is crowing with delight over the snow, my husband is saying I told you so and I am just hoping none of the tender plants will die.

I know what triggered this dream- my husband told me not to start planting garden seed, as february is always our coldest month. I insisted that spring is coming and started anyway. The bit that puzzles me is the line of shrubs across the driveway! In my dream they were planted right into the asphalt.

spring

2012-02-01T09:15:00.001-05:00

Poking through the yard, looking for growing things. Quite a few Crocus under the front-yard trees, but only yellow ones. Where are the blues?

The Parsley plants are all growing lush through the leaf cover.

I found one Rhubarb unfurling its weird fat red shoots! A second one I can see the rosy nubbins just below the surface. Pulled the leaves back and gave them glass cloches. The other two plants I'm not sure if they will come back. One spot has blackened stumps- from flower stalks? but I thought I'd removed those, maybe I missed them- and the fourth spot, nothing.

The other plant I've seen very few signs of are my Daylilies! The Daffodils in their corner are bursting with buds, but I don't see any daylilies. I noticed this because in a neighbor's yard her whole bed is full of daylilies several inches high already. I pulled back the leaf mulch and found some green shoots coming through, but not as many as I expected. I'm hoping it's just that her spot gets a different amount of temperature/light and so hers are emerging earlier? but I don't know.

painted

2012-02-01T09:15:00.000-05:00

I painted my coldframe white. Two coats of mold-resistant primer, and a coat of white housepaint (all leftovers from cans in the shed).

The little Lettuces are growing quite contentedly in there. I've started leaving them out overnight and they seem to do just fine.

winter chard

2012-01-31T11:48:00.000-05:00

A few of the Chard stumps I neglected to yank out of the ground in the fall

are now growing fresh new little leaves.

I cut some the other day to put in an omelette with mushrooms. It wasn't even enough chard to taste, but perhaps we got some nutrients anyway!

rose seed

2012-01-31T11:27:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to start rose seed. These are from the hips I picked off roadside several weeks ago.

Today I saw more on the same bush and came home with another handful. These hips each had two or more seeds, so I ended up with about forty seeds total.

Getting rose seed to grow is very tricky, I find from my reading. (Which is why usually they're grown from cuttings). The seeds have to go through a lengthy period of stratification- sitting in the cold. Several months worth. They also have to be kept dark and partly moist, so I followed the method read on another site and layered a babyfood jar with vermiculite.

I've never worked with this stuff before. I like it better than perlite, which floats about too much- but this stuff the color of oatmeal is kinda weird. You get it wet and it soaks up the water but still feels gritty.

Put a layer of it in the jar, with a layer of seeds, then another layer of vermiculite and so on until the little jar was full (three levels of seeds in there).

Then seal it up and stash in a corner until the date I've marked on my calendar, to take them out and see if any seeds will sprout once put in soil...

It's not very promising. I read too much about it online. Rose is very susceptible to fungus, so you have to soak the seeds first in a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide, or weak bleach. The mixture you store them in must be very sterile, too. Only the seeds that sink when you soak them are likely to germinate- but I didn't get any, mine were all floaters. Four sunk when first put in the bath, but they were all floating when I came back six hours later to store them in the jar. Then you have to wait forever, and there's always the probability the seeds that do grow won't be true to the parent, but look different.

Why am I doing this crazy thing? Well, it only took about fifteen minutes to prepare the seeds and put them in the jar. Not really difficult. There's just the patience required with small hope of actual roses at the end.

I guess I just like to see what I can get to grow. The challenge is my idea of fun.

2012-01-30T19:24:00.000-05:00

Started Peas today. They'd soaked overnight. My daughter picked out a dozen peas to soak for her garden plot; I'm planting about forty. Yes, that sounds like a lot for my little garden, but I want to have enough peas beyond eating them fresh, to freeze some for our year-round use.

Here they are just getting poked into the soil of their starting trays.

Shelling peas, this year.

seedlings up!

2012-01-30T19:19:00.000-05:00

I have four baby Cilantro!

and a dozen teensy Broccoli plants

new packaging

2012-01-29T23:06:00.000-05:00

I discovered (thanks to Chris again) how easy it is to find seed-packet templates online, and decided to make nicer packets to hold my saved seed. I've been keeping them just in folded bits of scrap paper, seamed with tape. They're not very nice-looking, and some tiny seeds always end up stuck on the tape, and I have to cut them open...

Well, I found this template at Content in a Cottage. I really like her design, but I wanted more space for a picture, and less lines for writing on, so I altered it a little bit (I hope she doesn't mind!) I wanted the packets to be tougher than regular copy paper (because they get jammed into my very full seed jars) but didn't have any cardstock in the house, so I just cut up a few manila file folders and ran them through the printer.

Then it's easy- you cut them out, fold the little flaps, glue it together. I found that enlargening the template by 115% makes it just a bit bigger, to use for the larger seeds like green beans. I decorated mine by cutting out pictures from old seed catalogs. The only one I couldn't find a photo of was Cilantro, so I drew a quick little picture of the herb on that one.

It felt nice to repackage all my seeds. My husband saw my work and said "are you going to sell those, or just swap them?" ha ha. Nope, just keeping. I just like them to look pretty and hold together better. It was fun to do, too. Also nice to sort through my seeds again. I was surprised- I have far more saved seed than I'd thought (about twice what's pictured here). And maybe this is silly, but I love the sound of the seeds- I just sat shaking packets after they were all done and sealed up, before storing them away in the back of the fridge again. It was so lovely.

(Next time I make more packets, I'll use a paper in between. Regular copy paper is too light, but cardstock is too heavy- it makes the packets quite thick and they didn't fit easily back in my jars. Something in between, the weight of construction paper, would be best I think.)

new dish

2012-01-29T22:38:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to find new uses for my dried garden herbs, but admittedly my repertoire here is pretty scanty. I put oregano into eggs and sauteed mushrooms, and beef dishes. Thyme goes in a maple sauce for pork chops (yum). Parsley gets used liberally in spanish rice and chicken pie. The sage went in my thanksgiving stuffing, and that's it. I've found I really like rosemary bread with honey on it so I tried making an herb quick bread last week, but nobody else cared for it. I've made lavender scones (with the same reaction), but can't think of what else to put lavender in... Basil get sprinkled on pizza. And today I found a new use for it: poached salmon!

not (for once) my photo- credit here

I looked at a few recipes, then just came up with this dish by combining different elements of each (to use what I had on hand). It worked- and best of all, both my husband and kid loved it. Definitely something we'll make again. Thought I'd share if anyone else wants a simple way to make salmon delicious.

2 or 3 salmon cuts
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons dried basil
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan on the stovetop. Whisk in the flour and milk. Stir on med-low heat until the milk scalds. Lay the fish pieces in the pan, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the crushed basil. Simmer gently, spooning the sauce over the fish or turning it frequently, until it flakes easily with a fork. Done! Serve with lemon or lime juice, and pour remaining sauce over the fish.

I'm planning on growing dill this year, so will try that in this dish next time.

dry!

2012-01-28T14:30:00.000-05:00

I don't know why it is so hard to resist watering plants when they don't need it. I've had this dracanea almost two years now, and just finally started giving it the treatment it needed.

No longer is it terribly droopy, leaves dropping off, burnt ends.

I finally figured it out: the plant likes to be dry. As in, the soil looks like a desert. You stick your finger in and it feels like sand. It took me forever to realize I simply have to leave it alone. I only water it once a week, or once every two weeks, even. And it doesn't like tapwater- only melted snow, rainwater or water that's been standing at least twenty-four hours.

Why is this so hard to do? I guess I always want to be doing something for my plants, and when the others need water I think of giving this one a drink, too. I'm trying to get myself into the habit now of walking around with a mister instead, or just wiping the foliage clean of dust, when I feel like the dragon tree needs some attention. And not only is it healthy now, it's growing quickly! Soon I'm going to have to lower it to the floor (its on a stand right now) as its leaves are about to hit the young spider plant it's sitting under.

So. Dry, dry dry equals happy dragon tree. You can finally see the beautiful red edges here too.

seed packets!

2012-01-27T14:10:00.002-05:00

I have a bunch of new seed packets, and I'm really tickled pink about it. First off, I've found my new favorite seed company, the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. They're local, grow plants here in the mid-Atlantic region and ship them from right here in Virginia! They have lots of open-pollinated, organic and heirloom varieties. And their website is wonderful, it has all kinds of helpful garden instructions and growing tips, also tells you how to save seed for yourself! I went there just intending to buy more broccoli seed, but it was all too tempting. So now I have:

de Cicco Broccoli
Kentucky Wonder Beans
jewel mix Nasturtiums
Evergreen Hardy White Bunching Onions
French Marigolds
Summer Savory
Sweet Marjoram
and Long Island Mammoth Dill

I also got my seed-swap packet from Chris today! What deliciousness to open that up and spread out the assorted packets. This is what he sent me:

Italian Heirloom Tomatoes
Brandywine red Tomatoes
Cantaloupe
two kinds of Okra- burgundy and green
pie Pumpkins
Ancho Peppers
Sugar Baby Watermelon
B Contender Bush Beans
Wheat Grass
Borage
Paragon Rhubarb
purple-top Turnips
a winter squash mix that (from the picture) contains Butternut Squash and Acorn Squash- two of my favorites!

Wow. I certainly won't be able to plant all these this year, but aim to give them all a try by next year at least. Quite a few of these will be new for me. I've never really cared for turnips, but only eaten them a few ways, maybe growing them will inspire me to do something different. I've never liked okra either but the plants are so pretty (and the flowers gorgeous!) I wanted to grow them anyways. I never heard of anyone growing rhubarb from seed, but why not try? Borage is an herb that will attract pollinators to the garden, and the wheat grass I plan to grow for my cats.

I feel so rich!

starts

2012-01-27T13:57:00.000-05:00

One little Cilantro seed is sprouting in the tray! but so small I can't get a decent picture. I started more seed today: de Cicco Broccoli, jewel color mix Nasturtiums, and green Onions (called bunching onions on the packet).

Coldframe

2012-01-26T13:36:00.000-05:00

I did it! I built myself a coldframe! You have no idea how thrilled I'm feeling right now.

I wasn't sure I could actually do it. I'm not very handy. When we moved into our house, we had to fix a few things. I patched some holes in the wall and put some drywall up where there was nothing (floor to ceiling) and it wasn't a very good job. A year later a carpenter came to do some repairs for us and he noticed my patching job and remarked how terrible it was, said "somebody didn't know what they were doing." Yep. Me. I was too embarrassed to admit it was my work.

Anyhow, I didn't really know what I was doing here, either, but figured I'd try. I had plenty of scrap wood, an old window, a hammer and a wood saw. A ruler and pencil. I bought some nails. That's it.

First I cut the wood into pieces to make the sides.

The hardest part was cutting the slope for the top short sides, so that the glass would sit at an angle. Then some little pieces to go inside in the corners to hold it together vertically, and a backstop.

Took it outside (while the baby had a fortuitous long nap) and nailed it all together.

Put the glass on top. Voila! A coldframe!

The little nails in front sticking up hold the glass from sliding down when it's closed, and the backstop holds it in place when it's propped open.

And now my first group of little seedlings has a comfy home!

It's not perfect. My edges are not sawn even (I never could slice bread evenly, either) my corners aren't quite square, there are splinters. I measured a bit wrong so it's about an inch wider and a half inch narrower than I'd like. But surprisingly, there aren't any big gaps, and it all held together. Would be better with screws, but I'm scared of power tools. I plan to paint at least the inside white, so it reflects more light.

I'm already thinking of making another one, since I have another old window in the shed. I want to make it with a deeper slope, though, so can fit more tall seedlings... And now I don't have to haul and restack bricks when I want to move it. What a relief.

baby broccoli

2012-01-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

I have some Broccoli seedlings! A few days old. I only had three seeds left in the packet, but amazingly they all sprouted. Have ordered some more.

hosta seed

2012-01-25T23:24:00.001-05:00

Why I get so tickled about collecting seeds I have no idea.

The other day tromping through the half-muddy backyard saw this seed stalk standing where my blue Hostas are sleeping under the earth.

I pulled the flag out, brought it inside, and found some little black specks (which I assume are the seed) clinging to the opened pods. Most had already fallen out; I'm curious to see if any baby hosta will grow by themselves in that spot. I put these in an envelope in the fridge with anticipation and then went and did a little online research. Discovered to my joy that it's quite simple to grow hosta from your own seed, and lots of gardeners do this to come up with various colors and varieties. I'm not likely to get blue hosta from the seed, but I might. We'll see!

And here we have more Apple seeds. Not like I need them. Already have two apple trees on the patio in pots, that I still don't know what I'll do with when they get bigger. But these seeds, exposed when I cut into slices a nice little mini-apple from the grocery store (is it a specific variety, or just the smaller apples off the same tree that grows big ones?) looked so plump and lovely I couldn't help saving them.

spider plant

2012-01-23T14:41:00.000-05:00

My large Spider plant has been looking rather heavy on one side. I decided the other day to see if I could rearrange it. It wasn't until taking the pot down and setting on a chair that I realized how monstrous this has grown! There were actually five plants in there.

I took out the two smallest ones, which also seemed the least-healthy; their leaves tend to corkscrew instead of making nice, straight curves. Centered the three largest plants as well I could, and repotted it all.

I'm surprised how much thinner the foliage looks now. But also more balanced.

lettuce seedlings

2012-01-23T09:33:00.002-05:00

The baby Lettuce are already too leggy. The seedling leaves should be flush with the soil, not on these searching stalks. I know they won't mind the cold too much; I've put the trays into that old plastic cover and set outside. Even on an overcast winter day they seem to get better light out there than indoors under my lamps (I don't have real grow-lights yet). Just have to bring them in at night until they get bigger.

The second set of trays I started has just begun to sprout. I was kind of surprised that the four-year-old store-bought seed I planted sprouted in one day and the two-year-old saved seed I planted took three or four days. I guess my saved seed isn't quite as vigorous as the original it came from. Or perhaps the older seed is just that much more eager to grow, after being in cold storage for so long...

tucked in

2012-01-22T12:57:00.000-05:00

Glad I had my perennial garden plants well-mulched, even though it was getting so mild spring-like weather before yesterday's snow. I took this photo of the Garlic patch just a few days ago, so pleased at their lush growth

and then they got snowed on! I counted them; there are about forty garlic plants. Some of the leaf mulch had drifted off and I didn't quite get around to recovering it before the snow fell. I might loose some plants off the edge from the freezing cold, but that will be alright. Even twenty or thirty garlics should be enough for our year's use!

The Strawberry leaves are still just poking a few out above the surface; Rhubarb is completely covered in white. I hope they all enjoy their short winter sleep!

cold herbs

2012-01-21T14:33:00.000-05:00

Most of my herb plants seem to be doing just fine, in spite of the snow. Rosemary:

Lavender:

The Thyme has grown into a wild, bushy thing. Its stems have a reddish hue and the leaves are darker color than the two indoor plants I have in pots. So I think I've answered my own question: thyme likes to grow outside.

Sage:

The Mints are all completely dead-looking but I have faith they'll survive, mint is such a hardy stubborn thing.

My little Oregano is completely covered in snow, and the Parsley plants as well. I feel pretty certain the parsleys will survive, not so sure about the oregano...

snow flores

2012-01-21T14:27:00.000-05:00

We finally got some snow- just two inches, plus plenty of icy rain. So I tramped outside this morning to take some pictures of plants in the snow. Yellow Crocus that emerged just earlier this week:

and stubborn Daffodils still growing through the mulch I tried to suppress them with.

pothos

2012-01-20T17:43:00.000-05:00

I have a new plant!

I went to my favorite local garden center (which happens to have winter hours, unlike the larger stores) to pick up some potting soil. I resisted buy more seed because I just splurged on some seed from Southern Exposure (more on that later) but all their plants looked so beautiful I couldn't help bringing one home. I've always wanted a pothos or philodendron- I have visions of them growing vines across the ceiling... This is a Pothos Gold variety.

orange seed!

2012-01-20T17:37:00.000-05:00

Last night I started some Orange seed. Yes, from this orange I picked them out of more than a year ago. Been sitting in the fridge all this time. I found a video on youtube (there are a lot) that shows how to grow them and realized what I did wrong last time. You have to soak the seeds first, at least eight hours, and then peel off the white outer husk. Let me tell you, this is a very annoying task. The seeds are so small and slippery (even though I tried to pat them dry) it was quite difficult to get a grip on them and peel the husks off. I think I damaged a few seeds. But have enough good ones; five from a navel orange and about a dozen from a smaller orange (clementine or satsuma? I can't recall). Anyhow, if I get a nice little orange tree I don't think I'll bother to ever try growing these again.

After peeling off the husks you fold damp paper towel over the seeds, then place in a plastic baggie (not sealed) and put in a warm place. So they've gone on top of my fridge. In about a week, hopefully some little roots will sprout!

they're up!

2012-01-19T08:42:00.001-05:00

I don't think I've ever had Lettuce seed sprout so quickly before. It's only been two days, and already I have eighteen seedlings! Tiny little green elbows above the soil.

You can barely see them, but I tried to get a picture anyway. When they're this small, I water them with a medicine syringe.

big leaves

2012-01-18T15:24:00.001-05:00

My favorite Avocado is still growing lush. Its two newest leaves are almost full-size now, and there's another teensy pair starting to sprout already!

This is my only avocado plant now. The smallest one died and the other large, lopsided one I traded to a lady off craigslist for some big pots. I was actually just thinking of composting it- the leaf tips were all burned and no matter how I pinched it one side kept growing more than the other and I didn't like its looks. The lady said cheerfully: Oh, it just needs to be straightened out a bit and I wondered how do you do that? I've tried. I half-wondered if I should keep it after all but said nothing. I hope its happy with her. Maybe I'll grow another one someday.

one more

2012-01-18T10:35:00.002-05:00

Found one more jar of seed in the fridge I'd overlooked, so I started another tray, of Cilantro. Also noticed that some little loops are emerging in a few of the trays, looks like lettuce?! already?! but they're fuzzy with mold. Maybe I put too much water in my seed starter mix, oops. Opened the plastic to let it dry out a bit.

starting seed

2012-01-17T09:59:00.002-05:00

It may be a little early, but I figure it doesn't hurt to have some lettuce going; I can always put it under the cold frame until the ground thaws. So yesterday I started lettuce seed and a few other things in trays. Recently someone asked me how I start seed, and I shared my methods. They had their first success growing some herb from seed! and so pleased, I thought I'd just share it here. I pretty much just use what I have around the house, nothing fancy. Someday I'd like to have grow lights and warming pads and all that, but for now this works fine.

Here's what I do. To get started, you need (not all pictured):

seeds
newspaper
potting soil or seed starter mix
shallow trays of any kind
broken pieces of an old clay pot, or of tile
large bowl or small bucket
piece of dowel, stick, or just your finger
old spoon or just use your hands
spray bottle
plastic wrap
rubber bands
masking tape or labels
a pen

First, lay newspaper down so you don't get dirt on the kitchen table. Decide which trays you will use for what seeds. I use recycled plastic food trays, anything the right size. Make sure your trays are clean- I always clean them with a mild bleach solution, and rinse with water then wipe dry.

Line the trays with broken pottery shards or busted-up old tiles (if your trays are the kind that had strawberries in them and have holes in the bottom, you can skip this)

Mix the soil in your bowl or bucket. If using plain potting soil, I mix in lots of perlite. This isn't the best option, but I've done it for many years. Just make sure it's not the potting soil with plant food added in, that will be too rich. This year for the first time I'm using an actual seed-starter mix, which needs water added in first.

Then put about an inch or two of soil in each tray and pat it down smooth.

Now add your seeds. For large seeds, poke a hole (with old chopsticks, a pencil, your finger, whatever) and drop it in, then cover with soil. Medium seeds, I place on the soil where I want them, then push into the soil a little bit, and pat some soil over them.

Very tiny seeds just place on the soil and then sprinkle a thin layer of soil over them.

Water with your spritz bottle. Unless the seeds are large, if you pour water with a watering can, it can wash them around.

Label your trays so you know what's what.

Cover each tray with plastic wrap and seal around edges with a rubber band. If your plastic container has a lid, just close it.

Put in a warm place. I always stick mine on top of the fridge. Check on them every day to make sure they're not drying out. If there's not water drops condensing inside the plastic, I always spray a little more in there. Once the seeds start growing, take the plastic off and move the tray to a sunny spot. This can be a very sunny window or under a lamp. I don't have a good window so I put mine under desk lamps around the house until they can go outside in the cold frame. Sun outside is the very best thing.

That's it!

Today I started Simpson Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Little Cesar Lettuce, Cilantro and Broccoli. I wasn't planning on doing the cilantro yet but was surprised when I opened my broccoli packet and there were only three seeds left. So I filled the rest of the tray with cilantro. It grows in cool weather, too.

Next I'll do peas...

early shoots

2012-01-16T15:22:00.001-05:00

I threw a pile of dry leaves over the daylily corner, to shield against frosts- it's only halfway through january, after all. But a few stubborn Daffodils are still sending shoots up through the leaf cover.

seed swap

2012-01-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

I'm trading seeds with a book-blogging friend who also happens to be a gardener, and wondered if anyone else would be interested? I have a lot of extra lettuce seed, of three varieties- bibb (very buttery) simpson (light green frilly leaves, my family's favorite) and romaine. Also some orange cosmos- I've found I like the pink variety better so don't want to grow the orange anymore. These are all seed I've harvested off my own plants, and they've grown just fine for me (I've been growing lettuce from my own saved seed for four years now).

I also have thyme, parsley and rosemary, from store-bought packets.

So... just let me know if you want some seed! and what you've got to trade for it. All it costs is one extra stamp on the postage, to mail a nice fat envelope of seeds.

shabby basil

2012-01-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

I've had two small Basil pots in the windowsill, from little self-seeded plants that grew in the garden last fall. They haven't done well, and we've been eating them (as you can see) even though they don't taste very good. I don't know why. The dried basil I have in my spice cupboard tastes way better. So I threw the potted plants on the compost today. It will be time to grow new plants again soon anyway.

plans

2012-01-14T23:40:00.000-05:00

The weather is teasing me. Mild, warm days make me think I should be out there digging and cleaning up and tucking young lettuce into the ground. But I know it's too cold and the ground is frozen. Apparently some plants still feel like it's an early spring, too- a lone crocus is peeking its colors out in my front yard. And the local grocery store is already selling seed and soil, even though the garden centers don't open until march. My thumb itches, so I splurged and bought some of that soil, even though it's packaged smaller and costs twice as much than the larger bags I usually pick up at the nursery.

I didn't buy any seed, though. Came home and opened my seed jars in the fridge, sorted through what I have into three piles: plant this year, save for another year, excess (particularly lettuce) I might give away or try to swap. I'm definitely hoping to plant more than last year, but still not sure how much I'll be able to manage with a one-year-old at heels, so I'm not using all the plots- letting the one near the small back patio (that was full of uneaten beets) and the one next to the rhubarb patch (recently converted from lawn and then let go back to weeds again) sit fallow this year. This is what I'm hoping to grow:

carrots
cantaloupe
beets
garlic
lettuce
tomatoes
broccoli
green beans
zucchini
peas
cucumbers
hot and bell peppers

and of course the obligate marigolds, tithonias, perennial strawberries and rhubarb, and herbs. The mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and lavendar are all still alive out there, so I'll just need to plant cilantro and basil, thinking of trying chives again this year (never got it to grow from seed yet).

And these are all seeds from my fridge. There are quite a few in there I'm not planting- for lack of space and thinking I might not be able to take care of it all. Plus I'm worried about getting another wave of cucumber beetles, or harlequin bugs or something so I'm keeping the melons and squashes to just a few. I do want to try adding butternut squash and brussel sprouts to my garden, perhaps next year...

I took a bit more care with my garden map this year, using the little chart that tells me which crops should follow which, as well as avoiding anything in the same family being in the same spot more than three years in a row. It took a little more time to figure it out but I think I have it right and hopefully will mean healthier plants?

red red

2012-01-06T09:54:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of surprised that my Poinsettia is still alive. It's dropped plenty of lower leaves, but the rest of it still looks healthy. It's done better than I expected.

dumb cane

2012-01-03T22:47:00.000-05:00

I find I'm not really fond of dieffenbachia, but I have three pots full of them. This one was just a bunch of broken short stems not too long ago. They all keep growing like crazy, yet never seem happy- the leaves stay small and the stems spindly. They're actually looking better now than they have for months, yet I feel grudging about their place taking up window space...

pear future

2011-12-20T11:31:00.000-05:00

These little things are pear seeds!

They even look kinda pear-shaped, don't they? I took them out of the core of a few organic pears ate last week. Most of the seeds inside there were flat but the few nice plump ones I saved. Thinking if I could experiment and grow a little apple tree from seed, why not a pear?

odd timing

2011-12-19T14:05:00.002-05:00

I have noticed signs of spring. Fat buds on the trees, and robins in their branches. A neighbor's forsythia down the street trying to bloom, yellow clumps on the ends of its bare branches. And in a public spot where daffodils always bloom, I saw bunches of fat shoots coming up through the mulch. Curious, pulled aside some of the dead-leaf litter around my daylily corner and yep, mine were trying to grow too.

But the coldest part of winter is still around the corner. Did the freak october snowstorm and then this mild, warm weather convince some growing things that it was spring already? if the real cold comes, will these plants go back into their dormancy and sleep, or will they suffer. I can only wait and see.

corn stripes

2011-12-16T23:24:00.000-05:00

My other Dracanea, the Corn Plant, also seems to be thriving since its repotting.

You can see that some of the newer leaves have bright paler green stripes down their centers, whereas the older leaves below the stripes are faded. I don't know if this is because of the age of the leaf, or because less light reaches the lower foliage?

But I do know it's happy again because new young leaves are growing.

dragon tree

2011-12-14T12:53:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to note that the plants involved in my little pot-switcheroo some weeks ago are all doing fine now.

This Dracanea has quite recovered; it dropped a few more lower leaves but is growing some lush new ones atop and overall looks very healthy.

These photos really do not do the plant justice. I love the red edging of the leaves, but can't quite get it on camera.

rose hips

2011-12-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

I have some rose hips, ha ha! I've always admired these small, wild roses that are planted in public spaces, and in a few yards around my neighborhood. This one untrimmed rose that overhangs a sidewalk has pink flowers and such pretty bold green leaves with red edges. The other day I noticed it had tiny red and orange hips, looked like little berries. So I picked some and put them in my pocket.

In another yard on a different street I'd noticed a more modern, large rosebush with some nice, fat hips on it. I had been toying with the idea of snipping some, or asking the people in the house if they'd mind. But I was too shy. What if they wanted to propagate their own roses? what if they thought I was weird, a total stranger knocking on the door asking to cut something off the rose bush? I should have done it, though. Just a few days ago walked by that yard and the entire bush was gone. They had cut it down to the ground. So I know they didn't want their hips, they didn't even want the rose plant.

I don't know when I'll try to grow these. They're in the fridge for now.

croton

2011-12-12T11:14:00.000-05:00

I have some new plants! A little gift for myself. The first is a Croton, also called Jacob's-coat because of its many colors. I thought these were tough plants but after bringing it home read more about it and they're actually quite sensitive to watering (great, another plant that can't use my tapwater).

Hopefully I can take good care of it and keep its leaves brilliant.

It's keeping company with my Phalo right now.

The other is just an ordinary little Poinsettia, but how bright and lovely! I have high ambitions for this plant; I want to follow Thalassa Cruso's directions for letting it go dormant, regrowing in spring and forcing the red "bloom" again next year. It will be a challenge!

baby crassulas

2011-12-10T10:19:00.006-05:00

the little cluster of baby Jades getting so crowded how could they grow

so I gently pulled them apart and replaced spread out (in the same little pot). The parent leaf had some roots so I stuck that back in the soil of another jade pot, just to see what happens.

dreary mums

2011-12-09T11:58:00.000-05:00

The yellow pot of mums is succumbing to the cold and hard frosts. But honestly, I like its appearance better this way. I've never been fond of yellow flowers, and the neon-yellow brilliance of mums seems unreal to me. I like pink better. I didn't know these would get a pinkish hue as they fade to brown.

young leaf

2011-12-08T08:34:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite of the Avocado plants. I took a picture from each side, I'm that fond of its appearance.

It's even growing some new leaves right now!

The other two plants, not doing so well. They're alive, but don't look as nice. The largest, first one I grew still has its awkward shape. And the smaller, third plant is starting to loose its leaves, not happy. Well, perhaps. It has new foliage coming too, but so small I couldn't get a close-up in focus.

orchid stem

2011-12-07T13:39:00.002-05:00

I cut the dying flower stem almost completely off my moth Orchid. It was turning yellow and I was afraid of rot infecting the rest of the plant. This time, instead of dusting the cut end with cinnamon I smeared it with a crayon, having read that wax should be applied to cuts when you prune plants, to keep out bacteria.

The young leaf is definitely getting bigger! I'm not sure how long the plant will rest before flowering again... if it ever does...

beets

2011-12-06T11:53:00.002-05:00

I still have a weedy bed of overgrown Beets out there in the garden. It's the only bed I haven't cleared yet. Must get to it soon.

I made one final attempt to eat a few.

Simmered them a long time until tender, but the taste was still off. Not terribly bitter, not inedible, but not sweet either. Definitely going to compost them all. Blah.

garlics

2011-12-05T11:51:00.000-05:00

I've never seen my Garlics grow so much in fall, they've really liked this warmer weather and their deep bed of leaves. Hoping for some fantastic garlics come next summer!

rhubarb

2011-12-04T11:49:00.000-05:00

My Rhubarb all remains well-tucked in for winter with its leaf blanket. The two end plants have disappeared; I hope only with the usual demise of foliage for the end-of-year. But the middle plant, which was the youngest of them all, still has nice big leaves with some fat red stems that almost tempt me to cut and eat them! I think it also got the most coffee-grounds mulch, wonder if that had something to do with its vigor.

chard

2011-12-03T11:46:00.000-05:00

It's turned out to be a nice, long warm fall (after that freak snowstorm in october!). I've long since cut down all the swiss Chard and composted the bug-eaten leaves (had been giving bunches of it to a friend every few weeks, since I wasn't eating it myself) but of course some of the stumps I failed to pull out of the ground are insisting on growing new leaves.

pinks

2011-12-02T11:44:00.005-05:00

The pink Cosmos are starting to die, the smaller second-generation plants that seeded of themselves this fall. I've really enjoyed their colors; here's a few photos of them.

mums

2011-12-01T11:42:00.005-05:00

my mother-in-law bought me this pot of chrysanthemums when she was here visiting. I never put it in the ground, it's been brightening the spot outside our door on the porch. The color is so vivid. Never had mums before, although I see them all over the place in the fall, lots of people have them in their yards.

special honeys II

2011-11-30T11:41:00.002-05:00

Even though I first posted about my new foray into tasting "special" and local honeys on my book blog, I'm going to continue it here because it seems to fit more with the gardening stuff.

On our final trip to the amish farm stand a few weeks ago before they close for winter, I picked out one more jar of monofloral honey: Starthistle. It has an amber color, and a sweet taste but with a very warm, mellow, creamy flavor. I don't know how to describe it at all, but I like it very much. It's my favorite of all the honeys so far.

We also brought home from that trip a batch of mix for making fried green tomatoes and I picked all the final Tomatoes off my plants (which have since been cut down and composted). It was pretty good. I didn't eat mine with honey- it makes the baby puke- but dipped my green tomatoes in ranch dressing. A. tried honey on his and said it was delicious with the Starthistle honey. Next year's end-of-tomatoes I'll give it a try myself.

My daughter was surprised the other day when I brought out all the special honeys for her to put on biscuits. She read all the labels and said "which one is the normal honey we get?" I said clover. She said "but we don't have any! You mean we only have speical honeys right now?"

That's right. And even though I can't eat them, I dip my finger in for just a taste every now and then.

fail

2011-11-21T13:11:00.001-05:00

I don't think the Pepper plants will make it through the winter.

They've got some kind of bugs, little white flies. And aphids, though I think those are gone.

I have tried spraying the plants with dishsoap-water until they're dripping. I've set them outside to get chilled- thinking the cold might kill the bugs. I've picked off every damaged leaf and cleaned the rest, by wiping every single leaf with baby wipes and paper towels dampened with water. Every time the bugs come back. They've started to spread to my Avocado plants and I don't want to loose those, so I'm giving up.

I've moved the Peppers outside. If they survive the cold of a few nights, and the bugs don't, I might bring them back in for one last try. But I'm not counting on it.

Oh, and the string of red jalapenos I tried to dry? Just got moldy, threw them out. Of course, you can't cure in cold weather. Maybe if I get more in the summer I'll try again.

thyme

2011-11-20T11:56:00.000-05:00

This my Thyme tree was outside on the brick and it grew a lot more lush and green. I've brought it inside for the winter now but realize it's just not as happy inside, so it will be an outdoor plant in the summers...

late cosmos

2011-11-04T19:13:00.000-04:00

My pink Cosmos self-seeded; there are a few small plants growing in the strip by the driveway. The plants are only about as high as my knee and the flowers half the size of their parents', but I'm hoping more will grow of their own accord in spring and maybe I can start saving my own seed of them since I like the pinks...

end post

2011-10-30T10:01:00.002-04:00

It's sunny outside, in a thin cold way with drips of ice. Pretty much the end of this year's pathetic garden.

I still have beets to pull up and throw on the compost, weeds to attack and if I find time -unlikely- crabgrass to uproot. And the lawn needs fall mowing and there's leaves to rake and stash in the shed for next year's composting. Other than that, all done until february when I start seeds again indoors. I'm sure it will warm up some more and the herbs and stuff keep going outdoors, but I'm not planting anything new so it's just cleanup time now.

Thus posting here will be infrequent for the next few months, unless I have something to note about the indoor plants or the weather.

cold

2011-10-29T21:11:00.000-04:00

I never saw it snow so early before; the end of october! Last night dubious of the prediction but just to be safe I tucked my Garlic and Strawberry beds under a blanket of dry leaves

and emptied my last bag of last years' leaves from the shed around the Rhubarb.

I even made things look silly by upending buckets over a few herbs; I want them to get well-established before they face true winter weather so hoping for more warm days after this freak storm.

And glad I did; today among the freezing rain we did get several hours of fat white flakes drifting down. It will all be melted by tomorrow, though. I hope this doesn't foretell a long, cold winter.

more herbs

2011-10-23T12:13:00.000-04:00

The Parsley has been doing wonderfully; I've picked a bit for cooking. Used it in some spanish rice and a chicken fajita recipe recently. Today cut this huge bunch to hang for drying.

Also a handful of Thyme

but I didn't cut anymore sage, or the rosemary. I'm going to let these hang-dry for a week or two, then finish the job in the oven like before.

shoots

2011-10-20T12:07:00.006-04:00

My Garlics are already growing! I don't remember any coming up so quick; but perhaps I planted them earlier this time than last.

jades galore

2011-10-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

My amazingly-propogating crassula leaf has sprouted not four, but five tiny plants.

I don't know if this is abnormal at all, but all the other times I've grown jade from a leaf stuck in the soil, only one or two came up, like this other plantlet in a nearby pot.

And just since I'm doing photos of crassula, the one I chopped its top off is now growing quite a few new branches on top.

At some point I'm going to have to cull them out; keep just the plants whose appearance I like best and give away (or compost?) the others. Because I really don't see a need (or space, if they grow up to small-shrub size) to have ten crassulas, which is what I've got now, even if they're all still fairly small.

red red

2011-10-18T18:34:00.000-04:00

I was surprised that my little Jalapeno plant not only is still alive indoors in a pot, but producing more peppers than ever! Just a few days ago I cut off all these bright red babies

and strung them up to dry. Simply threaded my biggest needle, and poked it through them.

I'm so taken by the vivid color I took quite a few pictures.

To dry/cure well, they're supposed to hang in a place of warm, moving air. The best I can do in our cool, rainy autumn is to hang them in my sunniest south-facing window. I just don't know what else to do with them (until next year when I try canning again)- I had been picking them and keeping in the fridge but they were all turning nasty, not getting eaten fast enough. Hopefully this will keep them until we get around to using them.

There are still more peppers ripening on the plant.

As a side note, I've found clumps of aphids on all three plants, most of them on the biggest, Bell Pepper plant. Sprayed them with soapy water, and a few days when I poked a few clusters and found bugs still moving (more had hatched? or I didn't get them good enough the first time?) I sprayed again, until the leaves were dripping with soapy water. The little Jalapeno plant also had leaves getting bites taken out of them but I found a stink bug and drowned him, so I think that damage has halted.

marigolds

2011-10-15T23:06:00.000-04:00

The Marigolds are finally starting to fade in the garden. All the foliage turning grey, while a few blooms hold on bright colors.

They have managed to reseed themselves quite well, as I never got out to pinch off all the dead flowers. Near quite a few of the parent plants and little clumps of seedlings growing quickly (but not quick enough to escape the coming colder weather!)

pokeweed

2011-10-13T11:03:00.001-04:00

I've found another Pokeweed plant growing through the fence against the divided garden. Still not seen any birds visiting for the berries, though that might be due to the presence of my cats.

My daughter just finished reading Little House in the Big Woods and when she asked me what pokeweed was (they used the berries to make dye for something) I was delighted to be able to go out and actually show her the plant growing in our yard!

one carrot

2011-10-12T11:03:00.001-04:00

I have been digging out my Carrot bed, which is full of dead, diseased rotted plants falling over. So far I have only found one good carrot. Washed and peeled, shredded most into a salad, kiddo got to eat the middle of it as carrot sticks. All gone too soon.

garlic

2011-10-11T09:51:00.000-04:00

I'm starting over with my Garlic supply. Last time I was at the grocery store, bought a few extra heads

and separated all the cloves. Took the biggest, fattest cloves

and pushed them into the soil of one plot that I dug over and raked with compost this morning. About forty cloves. Probably way too many, but I'm eager to get a good supply going again. It's the first time in three years I've had to buy garlic, and I prefer growing my own. They have a stronger flavor, too.

orchid

2011-10-10T12:29:00.001-04:00

I have learned that my orchid is a Phalaenopsis, called the Phal or moth orchid. Pretty common, among orchids kept as houseplants, I gather. Also learned that to encourage it to flower again, supposed to cut down the flower stalk two-thirds after the flowers die. I might have waited too long to do this, but gave it a try anyways. The plant seems healthy enough, even though it shows no signs yet of flowering again. I think it's growing a new leaf!

At least, I don't remember that smaller, central leaf being there before. I'm glad of keeping this photo-record here, I was able to look back at the previous photos of my orchid and see that no, it didn't have that sixth leaf before! Now I've made a note of how tall it is compared to the flower stalk, to watch its growth.

My sister has a beautiful pink moth orchid. She says she gives it three ice cubes once a week, so since I can never remember how much to water mine, I'm trying to follow that too now.

drying herbs

2011-10-09T19:05:00.002-04:00

I've tried three ways of drying my herbs, and have now settled on what works best for me. The oven.

Hanging them takes too long. Plus, now that it's getting colder (but not cold enough to heat my house yet) I don't want my kitchen ceiling fan on all the time. So these bunches that I hung up almost four weeks ago were drying, but not yet crisp. Every time in the past week when I tried to crumble a few hanging basil leaves in my fingers it would still have some give to it.

I tried using the microwave, which a gardening friend of mine recommended (she's tried all methods too, so that's her favorite. We all have our preferences!) She said to dry them just ten seconds at a time until the leaves crispy. The first zap I gave a plateful of thyme started a small fire in my microwave! No damage done, but scared me enough that I don't want to try that again!

Using the oven worked marvelous. I set it at the lowest temp it would go - 170- and laid the herbs spread out on a baking tray, put it in the oven with the door slightly ajar. It only took five to ten minutes for each batch of herbs to get dry and crispy. (I'm sure it would usually take longer, as these were already mostly-dry from having hung for weeks)

pictured here on the trays Parsley and Thyme

Then during a baby-nap I stripped the dried leaves off the stems of Thyme

and Fennel,

crumpled the Basil

and Parsley

to fit into the jars. I love these little spice jars!

My husband found them at a garage sale with a wall-mounting spice rack. They are old, thick glass with bubbles in it, and corks. The colored glass is a good thing, as to keep their flavor longer the herbs should be stored either in a dark cupboard, or in colored glass to keep out the light (this is also why drying herbs that are hung should be in paper bags or in a dark room, something I failed to do this time).

Close-up of the Thyme and Sage:

Pictured left to right: Parsley, Fennel, Thyme, Sage and two jars of Basil

the end!

(I'm planning on drying another batch of herbs later, of more Sage and Thyme, and some Rosemary)

doing things better

2011-10-09T12:26:00.001-04:00

I'm trying to do better at some things I've know about for a while but not followed. Such as covering my compost. It's been nice, actually, to go out after days and days of rain the ground is all saturated and the lawn squelchy but if I lift up the tarp my compost is nice, dry and crumbly, ready to use.

Another thing is being more particular about rotating my plants each year. I've been keeping drawings every year, a map of where each thing is planted. But the best I did was to make sure nothing was planted in the same place again, for at least two or three years before going back in that spot.

I read in a book recently that you should also pay attention to which plants follow which. Not only because you want to keep plants in the same family from growing in the same space again, but because some do better or worse following others, due to the nutrients they use or the diseases they're susceptible to.

Surprisingly, I couldn't find this information online. Anywhere you look points out learning what families your veggies are in, to have good rotation- I couldn't find a chart I wanted, that told me which plants favor others. I did print out a plant-family list, which taught me a few things I didn't know- such as that spinach is related to swiss chard, lettuce is in the sunflower family, and kale with broccoli (I knew potatoes and tomatoes were related, same with carrots and parsley, also chard and beets).

So now I'm looking for that book again, to copy the rotation chart and plan my garden better for next year.

into the ground

2011-10-08T08:24:00.000-04:00

Planted out my potted herbs, good hopes that they'll overwinter. I've got into the ground the Sage

one tiny surviving Oregano

and the Lemon Balm

flanked by the Pepper/Spearmint plants sunk in pots

and the Chocolate Mint sunk in a pot in front.

They all look so much smaller planted out.

Whoever warned me that Mint is a notorious spreader was not kidding. I was amazed at how thick the root masses were when I upended these pots. I had to knock them several times and tug on the stems to get the plants free of their pots! Wish I'd taken a photo but I didn't have the camera outside and working quickly to get done before the baby finished her nap. But they were just as rootbound as my original spider plant, if not more. Most of them had thick roots coiled around the top of pot rim, and long searching ones going out of the drain holes.

And these plants were just cuttings four months ago, stems broken off or yanked out of the ground. I've never seen growth so vigorous. I'm worried now that the pots won't contain them; that a piece of root will sneak out over the pot rim, or a root escaping through a drain hole down there in the soil will send up a long shoot, or that eventually the pots will crack (they're plastic) and the plant will find its way out...

I guess if eventually they start coming up outside their bounds I'll simply dig them out again and re-pot onto the porch. I do kind of miss their presence near the door already, I liked rubbing their leaves for the scent when I went in/out of the house.

indoors or out?

2011-10-07T12:15:00.000-04:00

I've never put my houseplants outside for the summer. Herbs in pots, yes, houseplants no. I tried it once with an Avocado and the thing went into shock. But I noticed that my corn-plant Dracanea seems happier in the direct sun of the mudroom

and then I noticed that my neighbor across the street (from whom I got the mints) has a tall corn-plant which she puts outside all summer long. If hers is happy, mine would be too? I'm just worried about it picking up bugs, which I wouldn't want to bring back indoors. Maybe next year I'll try it.

The other Dracanea (dragon-tree) I don't quite know what to do with. It seems a bit better since being repotted, but is dropping more lower leaves again. I just can't seem to make it happy. Maybe it wants more sun, too.

fall tomatoes

2011-10-06T13:03:00.001-04:00

Sunny days after lots of rain are my favorite times to get out and weed in the garden. Even weeds with long taproots like dandelion come up relatively easy with a good, steady pull. I'm glad I have the paths so I don't get my knees muddy. But for some reason I always feel compelled to clear the paths out first- it just looks so untidy with weeds growing in the gravel.

I've been working on cleaning up my Tomato beds. After cutting out dead foliage, removing vines that trailed on the ground, rotting tomatoes and all the weeds, I was surprised how relatively healthy the remaining plants looked.

They're still producing out there, even if not ripening!

I brought some just-blushing tomatoes inside to ripen on the windowsill, and am thinking of trying a fried-green tomato recipe for some others.

I even have baby Tomato plants growing all over the place, where fallen tomatoes rotted. The seedlings will never make it to sunny days enough to fruit, and they probably crossed with each other so it wouldn't be the best fruit anyhow. But it's pretty amazing to see how many seedlings spring up from one little decayed cherry tomato!

white stars

2011-10-06T08:23:00.000-04:00

these tiny white flowers like stars are coming up all around my yard. A daisy? a weed? but I like them so for now I let them stay.

basil

2011-10-05T12:05:00.000-04:00

The Basils in pots got moved, too. They were dropping lots of leaves. Now in the living room windowsill, where they get more direct sun. I like looking up from the desk and seeing light through their bright green leaves.

Incidentally, it was because of moving the Basil pots that I found out who was eating my plants! In the mudroom I'd noticed the edges of some leaves chomped on- a hole in one Dracanea leaf, another in an Avocado plant, some on the peppers- but too much foliage to search for the culprit. A few days after moving the basil plants I saw little black roundish droppings on the windowsill- with kinda square edges, if you look close. I recognized them right away- caterpillar poo! I could tell which plant he was on from where the droppings were concentrated so I took that plant down and went over it carefully. It took three examinations before I found him- the exact color of the leaves but a different shape. Sneaky caterpillar! He likes basil better than avocado or pepper, I guess- lots of my basil leaves were chomped. But no more!

I don't know if we'll eat from these or not. Lately I've been picking huge basil leaves out of the garden plants, they look so enormously healthy!

But a bit too strong- the flavor is very sharp and leaves a tingle on your tongue if you eat too much. I don't know if that's from the plants being older, past their flowering stage, or what...

I didn't collect any seed from the basils this year; still have plenty in storage. They've been seeding themselves on the ground, outside I find tiny basil plants growing around the larger ones. I've also found a few baby Marigolds (one even had a flower!) and Tomatoes growing near their parent plants- so I know those are all producing fertile seed!

peppers

2011-10-05T11:29:00.000-04:00

My Peppers all seem content for now, in the mudroom near the window.

(I had to move them out of the kitchen- not enough light). The biggest one is growing new young leaves at the top where most of the light is.

I wasn't expecting any peppers, just hoping to keep the plants alive through winter. Didn't even think they would make fruit, as don't the flowers have to be pollinated by insects? but following the drop of flowers, there are some new little peppers forming!

And the small Jalapenos continue to turn red, even indoors.

I just don't know what to do with them. I don't like hot peppers myself; my main use for them is in beans. But I haven't been cooking beans lately because they upset the baby's digestion. My husband wants me to pickle some with carrots (his favorite way of eating jalapenos) but I think I only have enough peppers for one jar, and it seems a waste of energy to go through the whole canning process for so little...

long-term plans

2011-10-02T12:58:00.003-04:00

Now that I have those two Crape Myrtles in place on either side of my steps at the bottom of the driveway, my plan for this space is slowly starting to take shape. At the rate I'm going, it will be ten years before I have it looking like I want, ha!

I've used a paint program to go over this photo and scribble in rough idea of what I'm planning:

Against the fence, two little evergreen hedges about a foot wide and four or five feet high. On the right side, a curving bank of daylilies to echo those under the window (but perhaps another color- pink, I think). On the far right corner where there's a gap in the neighbor's hedge, a fat round evergreen shrub of some kind, with another like it on the far left near the house. Edging the circular steps some kind of "steppable" pretty groundcover. In a circle around the crape myrtles, beds of nasturtiums, and filling in all the gaps other perennial flowers (no idea what, I just scribbled in some color for those). Oh, and an arch just in front of the gate, planted with climbing roses.

When it's all established, I'll no longer have to run a lawnmower over that little slope down to the patio! I'm wondering if I can pull it off...

greenery

2011-10-01T13:25:00.002-04:00

I've been putting the coffee grounds around all the Strawberries, and the holes eaten into leaves have almost disappeared. It's the best proof against slugs yet. Better than broken eggshells, and much easier than beer traps.

I just don't have enough grounds (we don't drink much coffee, usually less than even 1 mugful a day) to put it in all the places I'd like to keep slugs away (and feed the soil at same time): around the rhubarb and hostas, to begin with. I've tried to get my husband to put a collection can in his office breakroom and bring me home all his co-workers' grounds, but he never did it. My next thought is to go to a local coffeeshop and ask can I have theirs- I've heard they'll fill up a bucket for you. Just don't know if other gardeners have beat me to it...

Now the Strawberry patch is free of other plants: I just dug up moved that Crepe Myrtle bush that grew up through one of my strawberry plants on that far right corner. (The poor strawberry is mostly brown but perhaps it will revive).

myrtles

2011-09-30T12:57:00.000-04:00

In the past two days I took advantage of a breeze (which meant I could take the baby out into the garden) and a long nap to do some digging. With the help of compost and grass mulch, a shovel and my own sweat I moved two Crepe Myrtles out of the raised bed. This little one which came with that packet from the Arbor foundation two years ago got moved to a spot next to the small patio, just off the corner of the house near fence in my backyard. I'm picturing how it will grace that corner when it grows up. Right now it barely clears the grass!

And this bigger one which grew from the root left in the ground last year, I dug again and moved to the other side of my steps down to the main patio, so now there's one on each side, of about the same size. I do hope it survives.

There's still a fat piece of root left in the strawberry bed; I tried to get it all but failed. So next year I'll have yet another crepe myrtle to move, unless I just pinch the growth off until the root dies.

pretty herbs

2011-09-30T12:34:00.001-04:00

It's been raining a lot lately, but also quite sunny. My little beginning of an herb garden is bursting with new growth; the Parsley though I cut some to dry weeks ago, is quite tall and the other plants all have new leaves. I think they like their grass-clipping mulch; it certainly is helping keep the weeds away (and the foliage clean, so I don't have to worry about mud splashed on it, can just pick and use immediately for cooking). I've never seen my Thyme grow so well, nor have leaves so big. It's just beautiful, so full and lush now.

One of my next major fall garden tasks is to move most of these potted herbs by the door

into the ground. I know the mints and lemon balm (also in the mint family) are notorious spreaders, but I plan to simply sink them in pots. I don't mind if that restricts their growth; we don't eat enough mint to need huge plants! I might let the lemon balm have a bit more room, though...

You can see how much they've filled out again from being cut down! The pots on the ground, from left to right: tucked against the door the Peppermint/Spearmint, in blue pot the Chocolate Mint, bright green in black pot the Lemon Balm, in clay pot the other Pepper/Spear Mint (I must figure out which one is which!) and in smaller blue-green pot the Sage.

something yellow

2011-09-29T13:23:00.001-04:00

My Rhubarb continues to thrive in the fall weather and rain.

Next to it, a bright yellow patch. I thought from the window it was a toy my kid left out there, so went out to retrieve before the rain (we've had a few blankets and dolls left out in the rain turn moldy and have to get discarded lately). It wasn't a toy. It was a big fungus.

Here's the other side.

It was growing right where the fourth, dead rhubarb plant used to be. It's not the only one, though. There are several others in the weedy part of the back lawn, scattered about ten feet apart. I wonder if it's all part of the same underground system? and what kind of fungus it is...

butterfly

2011-09-28T15:21:00.000-04:00

I've been seeing these brown-and-gold butterflies with spots.

They alight on the ground, on the newly-cut grass, fly up but not very high, and land again. When I first saw this one outside our door I thought it was hurt and just couldn't fly.

Now I think they're probably "puddling", which is when butterflies sip up minerals and nutrients from moisture on the ground.

This one I took pictures of is a Buckeye butterfly; they're quite common around here.

shuffle

2011-09-23T09:51:00.001-04:00

My Dracanea the dragon-tree has been doing poorly. Before, I thought it was from being in too-small a pot and put it in a bigger one. It's been doing worse than ever, very droopy. I read more and realized that dracaneas like to be a bit pot-bound. Then upended it and realized the pot had no drainage hole. I felt awful. It was drowning! So I took it out of that pot, gave it fresh soil with plenty of perlite,

and punched holes in the pot it came out of and gave that pot to the smallest unhappy Avocado.

The pot the Avocado came out of, I put the bigger Dracanea (corn plant) into (who had given its pot to the dragon-tree). It was a regular plant switcharound, and I hope they're all happier now.

I've also moved my dumb-canes. They're now in the livingroom windowsill, and seem to be doing better there.

This is the one made up of recent cuttings. It lost a few leaves, but not as many as I expected.

And since this post is about houseplants, might as well mention I've potted up some baby Spider plants off the big momma pot. Second set of offspring!

hibiscus

2011-09-22T09:46:00.000-04:00

I think the trimming I gave the Hibiscus shrubs months ago has paid off. They have more flowers than ever, and I'm even more determined to dig them up and make a little hibiscus hedge closer to the house someday.

The colors are so varied, too- from white and pale pink to light purple and almost lavender. I took some photos, and noticed that the petals vary in their shapes, too. Some are almost round, others more oblong or frilly.

This one has a small petal curled inside around its pistil.