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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Garden Talk


The seeds are sprouting now--broccoli and Savoy cabbage are first of course. The tomatoes will be next, possibly the celery soon after, then the leeks and bringing up the rear, the peppers. All other seeds will either go into the garden as is, or be started later in the greenhouse.

I found an inexpensive way to start my seeds in the house this year. I saved my yogurt and cottage cheese containers for just this purpose. We poked holes in the bottoms of the containers, filled them with seed starting soil, and zipped them up in baggies. Voila! Miniature greenhouses. So simple and I cannot think why I haven't done this before. Live and learn. I have the containers in pans so I don't ruin my table top when I water them later on--if I need to. They may not even need it before I move them outside to the greenhouse.


I have to laugh every year when I look at the tomato seeds I buy. This year's selections? Lemon Boy, Yellow Pear, Mr. Stripey, Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Better Boy, Early Girl, Amish Paste, Sweet 100's, and one or two others I can't recall. I know, I know--overkill. But each one is unique in flavor and use! Which ones can I not grow? That's like asking my mother which of her thirteen children she should have gotten rid of. Not possible.

The greenhouse is still in the box. I bought one online this year from OutdoorEdge, through eBay. What's it like? I don't know yet. I think it's going to be pretty flimsy and I'm worried about how it will hold up in our high winds. But Larry seemed to be finding all sorts of things to do besides build me a new pole greenhouse (last year's was in a bad location and now we use it to house the wood splitter) so I thought I'd give this a try. I'll post pics when we put it up so you can see what it looks like--and how easy/difficult it is to assemble. At $109.00, I figured it might last a couple years anyway, but not much longer.

What else is going on with the gardens:

  • Larry hauled 3 loads of ancient manure from our son's barn and spread it on the gardens

  • He also burned a pile of brush on one garden--nice addition of potash

  • Today he plowed one garden and will plow another tomorrow if the rain holds off

  • We've decided to put up electric fence to keep the deer out. Last year they ate more green beans than we did

That's all the garden news for now. What's been going on in your garden?

12 comments:

  1. I'm jealous - my garden is still under at least six inches of snow!

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  2. Only to such a good friend could I relate this minimal garden news. At my book club this evening, a friend brought seeds and potting soil that were going to be thrown away at Home Depot. So I have some herbs and strawberries to plant on the deck, and some for my neighbor who couldn't come to this meeting. After we read _Animal, Vegetable, Miracle_ we decided that even with our limited space in this development, we could grow a bit of food on our decks in pots -- and this seems a perfect start (if the squirrels let us have any of it).

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  3. Well we haven't done a thing to our garden. We took down our electric fence last year, it was becoming a pain to mow around and sometimes the wire would break. And (keep your fingers crossed)the deer didn't bother anything. Let's hope it stays that way this year, too.
    You've really got a good start with your plants.

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  4. "hauled 3 loads of ancient manure" Ah yes I remember the days as a kid doing this, Dad use to call it "family day" but what it really meant was time to get to work in the yard.

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  5. For those of you who are interested, Myra Bonhage-Hale of La Paix Herb Farm received a grant a few years ago to experiment with ways to keep deer out of the garden. She may be of help to some trying to keep the deer from eating all of the crop.
    Amy H.

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  6. We always save cottage cheese and yogurt containers for the same reason...you can use them a number of years too!

    Spring is so close I can taste it! Hee Haw to the garden!

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  7. Go seeds, go! Spring is coming!

    Thanks for the Spring like post - its encouraging to read from up here in the North!

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  8. My garden is waiting patiently for us to bring the "stuff" from the chicken pens and the pig pens to be plowed in. We need to get to work. Potatoes need to go in on Good Friday. Patiently waiting for my husband to build a greenhouse--the frame has been built for a while.

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  9. Wow, you're way ahead of us, and I have to admit much of it is laziness & winter sluggishness!

    I make mini-greenhouses for my seedlings with plastic bottles, like coke bottles: I cut them in half, plant in the bottom half, then put the lidless top back on. They get a bit of air but most of the moisture runs back down to the soil. Hurray for recycling!

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  10. Wow! I love the idea of the mini greenhouses. I plant my seeds in flats I saved from last year and cover with plastic wrap and put on top of the refridgerator - warmest place in the house until they sprout. Then under the lights, last year I had to move my plants around alot, to many plants not enough space...this year? Probably the same! I always have bigger eyes than space. I plan growing lettuce and spinach on the porch, close by so I will actually pick it! Cherry tomatoes also will go on the porch, and the rest of the veggies will go into my expanded garden area. I worry about others not having food to eat, so I figure I can grow a little more and bring it to work or food closets to share. Warm weather this weekend...daffodils blooming in the garden, I can't wait for spring! tm

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  11. Sounds like you guys are right on track! I have my garden turned-and my seedlings growing! I want to build some above ground beds too-but haven't got that done yet.

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  12. I've spent the last 2 days turning soil, clearing out the old, dead seed heads from herbs and flowers,oh and awing over green sprouts coming up all over the place, and planting seeds. Its been a wonderful last couple of days. I so hope it lasts.

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