Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Looking good in January

Fava Beans


Mustard


Red Russian Kale

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Sugar Snaps are in the Ground

Unseasonably warm weather is being predicted for the next several days. I started soaking my sugar snap peas yesterday before I left for the weekend in Asheville. My garden assistant, i.e. son Andrew, planted them for me today in two 12-foot rows.  A little head start ... with hopes that it will translate into early peas!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Wineberry CleanUp

What a beautiful blue-sky day! It was the kind of day that inspires one to look for outside chores. I was inspired to clean up the berries.

I chose to tackle the wineberry patch.  It's more contained than the black raspberry patch, but what a jungle! I cut out the old canes, then tucked all the young ones into the confines of the raised bed. I guess it's sort of silly to grow wild and rambling berries in a raised bed, but with a little well-timed maintenance it does seem to work.

It took quite a lot of wrestling to get all the flexible canes woven toward the center of the patch. Many of the plants had already set roots outside the bed. I carefully extracted those and tenderly transplanted them into a more desirable location.

The job was a bit overwhelming ... sort of like taming a monster. Those briars can be vicious! Even with leather gloves and protective clothing I suffered prickles and scratches. But I stuck with it. The end result? A neat and tidy bed. Bring on the fruit!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Potatoes and Seeds ordered

Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. made me an offer I couldn't refuse - $50 off on a $100 order.  Here's what I got for my $50 ...

Seed Potatoes  2 pounds each
  • German Butterball 
  • French Fingerling
  • Yukon Gold
  • Purple Viking
Root Vegetables - Seed Packets
  • Forono Beet
  • Ruby Queen Beets
  • Tendersweet Carrot
  • Radish Mixture
Other Veggies - Seed Packets
  • Black Krim Tomato
  • Orange Whopper Hybrid Tomato
  • Rainbow Bells Blend (cherry type) Tomato
  • Butterbeans Soybean (edemame)
Plus, I couldn't resist the Royal Flush Sunflower seed mix.  Maybe we'll be able to use them for Abi's wedding!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Wishbooks Galore!

The arrival of holiday gift catalogs has subsided, making room in the mailbox for new seed catalogs.  Happy New Year!  Time to think about this year's garden!


Seed catalogs are my grownup version of the Sear's Wishbook.  My sisters and brother and I would spend hours paging through that special holiday catalog, indulging our grandest fantasies, taking turns choosing what we wanted from each page. We turned it into a game, making up rules about which page we could choose from, whether or not more than one of us could choose the same item, and how many items we were "allowed" to have on our list.  It feels a bit like that as I leaf through the current crop selections.  Such dreams! Such hope! Such promise!