Planning

It is taking all of my willpower not to jump the gun on spring planting. Clearly my willpower is not very strong because I am quickly running out of space under the grow lights, but I have yet to make the jump to filling the pots on my porch. I came close to planting the spinach today but tonight's forecasted snow storm has scared me off, for now. Every night I've been reading a little more of Crockett's Victory Garden by James Underwood Crockett. It's the gardening guide that my dad swears by, and I can see why. The book is based on gardening in the Boston area (it's actually the companion to an old PBS gardening show) so the climate is just about right for my uses. Also, the book is broken down by month, so each month you're told what should be planted, transplanted or harvested, and also some side projects with detailed how-to information. This guy is great! Clear, easy to read and straightforward, I am starting to think of James Crockett as an old friend who guides me through my gardening year.

Today in my excitement I got out all of my planting containers and set them up on the deck. It made for a good "dry run" to see how they will fit together, and it is pretty clear that I don't need to buy any more pots for now - I should devote that money to potting soil instead. The next project is to use the pictures from today to plan new homes for the tomatoes, peppers and lettuce.

Seed Starting

Burpee Seeds from Kmart:
Chianti Hybrid Sunflower
Watermelon Heaven California Poppy
Giant Princess Aster
Little Sweetheart Sweet Pea
Peas in a Pot
Satin Spinach
Detroit Dark Red Beet
Golden Beet

Seeds Started tonight:
Echinacea, Warm Summer Mix
California Poppy
Red Popper Pepper
Tangerine Dream Pepper
Peas in a Pot
Gourmet Duo Beet
and 2011 (expired) seeds:
Snapdragon
Baby's Breath
Sweet White Spanish Onion
Golden Grande Onion
Carnival Mix Pepper
Summer Sun Pepper

Found Expired Seeds

2011 Burpee Seeds - I must have bought these at Job Lot at the end of last season - can't quite remember.

Common Sage
Bright Lights Cosmos
Fordhook Tall Snapragon
Tricolor Daisy Chrysanthemum
Summer Squash - Zucchini Hybrid
Sweet White Spanish Onion
Golden Grande Onion
Crispy Hybrid Pepper
Summer Sun Hybrid Pepper
Carnival Mix Pepper
Roma Tomato
Black Krim Tomato
Yellow Pear Tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Bloody Butcher Tomato
Best Boy Hybrid Tomato
Better Boy Tomato
Early Pick Hybrid Tomato
Super Steak Tomato
Summer Choice Tomato

Really?

Yesterday was in the 50's and beautiful. Today it looked like a winter wonderland out the window but in reality it is a cold, wet, slushy "wintery mix." Yuck. Can the daffodils handle this?

PS: Days like this I dream for a fireplace.

Pleasant Acres in Westerly

I had to work late on Valentine's Day this year so yesterday Nate took me on a date to our friend Mitch's nursery in Westerly, Pleasant Acres. It's still pretty early in the season to be hanging out a garden center - Mitch says to come back after Easter - but he gave us a tour of all the greenhouses and that place is massive! The first greenhouse was full of tropical plants, orchids, succulents, bromelaids, spider plants, and some rather large trees - the "pets" of the nursery - banana, palm, lemon, and some others I couldn't identify. Another greenhouse was full of flats that will be pansies, one with pots that will be geraniums, one with hydrangea and other slightly larger potted plants, one with what Mitch called the "Christmas leftovers" - paper whites, amaryllis and cyclamen. Then we came to one that looked more like my area - lettuce, sage, chives, oregano... this greenhouse was more of a grab bag. I can't wait to go back and see everything as the season progresses! Mitch also gave me some useful tips: keep my echinacea, hens and chicks and lavender pretty dry (they don't like overwatering), and add the pellet-style lyme to the soil of the tomato plant to keep the bottoms of the tomatos from turning black. I came away with 2 cyclamen (Mom has had luck with these - she says the trick is to water them from the bottom) and a little pot of purple tinted hens and chicks. My kitchen windowsill is benefiting from the color!

Daffodils sprouting

The tree stump in the yard will look prettier with friends. I thought the squirrels had eaten all of these!

South side of the house

Front of the house

Surprise! I didn't plant these!

The warm weather continues - I think it has only snowed twice in Matunuck and neither time lasted more than a day or so. Today it's 53 degrees and beautifully sunny. I came out to plant the poppy seeds an dnoticed a lot of the bulbs are sprouting! A few of the daffodils by the porch steps, the south side of the house, out by the tree trunk near the cow pasture, and the patches on both sides in front of the house. The crocuses are also poking up, and the irises in the pot on the front step. It also looks like the anemones are going to give it another go - hopefully this time they'll have flowers instead of just greenery. The real surprise is that in the fall I only planted the eastern half of the garden on the south side of my house but it appears my homeowner Lisa must have also done some planting before we moved in because there are definitely some daffodils poking through the grass on the other half too! This is great because it means more flowers for spring but I'm getting nervous about where I can plant my dahlias and zinnias! And the poppies! Yikes! Where will they go? My fears about whether the bulbs would be strong enough to grow through the grass have been calmed, at least with the daffodils, it doesn't seem like they are having any trouble. I hope the tulips will have the same luck.

Red Corn Poppy (Eden Brothers Photo)

Peony Poppy (Eden Brothers Photo)

Shirley Poppy (Eden Brothers Photo)

Sometimes I plan well and sometimes I wing it. Today was a wing it sort of day. I had 4 packets of poppy seeds to plant from Eden Brothers - Shirley Poppy, Red Corn Poppy, and 2 packets of Peony Poppy (the ones I'm most excited about). I started with the Shirley Poppy because they were a free surprise when Eden Brothers mixed up my order (love their customer service!). I put them on the east side of the porch steps, next to and behind the bush that I think is lilac. I hope that these will get enough sun in the early spring before the lilac's leaves fill in, and then they'll be covered by the lilac when they're dead and ugly. Not sure how that is really going to pan out. Next I dug up a patch of grass in the center of the south side of the house, about 2' wide by 3'deep. My size was limited by the edge of my known fall plantings on one side and Lisa's sprouting bulbs on th eother side. In this area I sprinkled a combination of the Red Corn Poppies and the Peony Poppies. I'm sure I put too many seeds but I don't know what the germination rate is and I have more seeds that I know what to do with. I had a packet and a half left over so I sprinkeled them around the bases of the stumps and trees in the yard - hopefully this will keep them safe from mowing. I really hope these grow! non of last year's poppies got more than an inch tall (all in pots on the windowsill, probably overcrowded), and the ones I started under the grow lights at home haven't done anything. Hooties says they need to get cold from the winter so I've wrapped that pot in plastic and put it in the fridge last weekend. I'm not sure if that will work but I will keep you posted!

The poppy patch (I hope).

The house plants enjoying some real sun.

Day 21: Seedlings

Things are busy in the basement! I am so excited by my success that today I planted Patio Princess Tomato from Burpee, more sage, and two kinds of Sweet Pea: Henry Eckford and High Scent. Crockett's Victory Garden book advised me to go ahead and plant the sweet peas, the tomato is more of a long shot.

Basil and lettuce



The baby's breath and echinacea are not doing much yet.

Basil, lettuce, one of the zinnias and the morning glories are the biggest so far.

Pre-Valentine's Dinner

Steak, orzo, and tomato pepper spinach goat cheese salad

Apple pie. Do you see the heart I cut in the top? (I don't!)

Day 13: Seedlings



Morning glory and Basil




Stevia (not growing), Sage and 2 pots of Basil




Oregano, Viola, Basil



Basil and lettuce

Morning glory and basil



Thyme and Phlox





Day 6: Something is Happening...

Seeds

Ikea Plants

The Ikea plants are spicing up my windowsill.
Left to right: Rosemary (from last summer's herb garden), _____ from Ikea, Chives from the herb garden, ______ from Ikea, more chives, Hens and Chicks, the last remaining sprig of mint from last summer (fail).

 

I'm attempting a succulent terrarium. Why are my Hens and Chicks so awkward?

Aloe Wamsley from Ikea