Gardening Supplies

Ben picked up 2-2 packs of 50 ft. length soaker hoses for 12.99 at Costco yesterday. Total with tax: 27.54

Brrr

We are still in the throes of winter here. Yesterday, my dad, a few hours south of me, posted this picture, saying this is what he saw out his window.

After I sputtered with jealousy, he emailed again, letting me in on his joke:

A ghostly old John Deere. There is some grass peeking through the snow, though. We don't have that here...

First Seed Order of 2010

We have committed ourselves to starting tomatoes from seed to help avoid the blight this year. My dad graciously has detailed his seed-starting methods and even shared an empty flat he had stored in his barn for us to use. I think it would hold something like 96 plants. We won't be starting 96 plants right now, but I suppose we have the option! I have to ask him if I can share it here, because perhaps it is privileged information he hopes to copyright or patent and sell someday. We got some suggestions from a longtime gardening friend of Ben's on tomato varieties that he has had good luck with in this area. I added some peppers. We haven't had great luck with peppers, so didn't even try any last year, but I'm hoping for better luck this year. I plan to do at least some of them in self-watering containers. I went ahead and copied and pasted the whole invoice. Last year, I did not keep track of what we spent, but figure it wouldn't be a bad idea this year. As I told someone else who was feeling guilty about spending on her garden because it didn't end up producing much in the way of food, I think the cost can also be expensed as education, entertainment, and exercise. ;)

00112aBrandywine TomatoPacket 1$2.1000415aKelloggs Breakfast TomatoPacket 1$2.3500418aKentucky Beefsteak TomatoPacket 1$2.2500711aSunsugar Hybrid TomatoPacket 1$2.2503052aMitla Hybrid PepperPacket 1$2.7503093aThai Hot PepperPacket 1$2.3503129AChablis Hybrid PepperPacket 1$2.2503187aMini Belle Mix PepperPacket 1$1.95Subtotal:$18.25Shipping:$4.95Tax:$0.00Total:$23.20

Coming this spring!

Raintree sent an invoice.

We have the following (some I ordered, some were bonuses) coming in the spring:

10 crowns of Jersy Knight asparagus

1 Rosa Rugosa Alba

1 P. aureosulcata Bamboo

1. Rosemary-4 inch pot

1True Grosso Lavender

1 Horsradish

1Fred Boutin Lavender

1 Highbush cranberry

Dirty Laundry

Well, clean, actually. I've been intending since Labor Day to sum up my Clothesline Challenge. From May 29-Labor Day Weekend, I did 108 loads of laundry. Forty-eight of them were line-dried. I didn't quite make my goal of 50%. It was cold and rainy at the end of this summer, and I thought I'd get out and improve my percentage after Labor Day, but, honestly, I didn't. I may have dried 2 or 3 more loads before the weather got yucky.

Other laundry--

I did not count, in these totals, 4 outdoor furniture cushions that I washed in the washer and were dried outside, 4 loads of laundry that Ben did, nor 2 loads of laundry I did at my mother-in-law's house while we were on vacation.

Thoughts--

I love laundry dried on the line. I love seeing the clothes flapping in the breeze. I love seeing the different sizes of my kids clothes all lined up. I love the smell of clothes dried on the line. Tried doing towels, but, yeah, prefer not to. Usually dried those with underwear, etc. in the dryer. I did hang kitchen towels and beach towels. I made my line bigger(it's not attractive) part way into the summer. I have a large-capacity front loader, so a load included a lot of laundry. I would like to get a better line, but what I have works, although I would need a different system in order to really up my percentages. I can't generally dry more than one load at a time, and with 6 people in my house, being able to dry more than one load would be advantageous. Benefits? Yummy-smelling clothes, fewer wrinkles, cooler house, cheaper electric bill, an excuse to be outside.

Pouring through the seed catalogs...

Working to make a realistic plan and not overdo the seed purchases...Everything looks lovely.

On the list, but not specifics yet--

Early season tomatoes in addition to some later ones--we're hoping to start these from seeds this year because it is our understanding that the blight came from the nursery tomatoes.

pickling cukes

potatoes

>>I need to do some research and we need to take some precautionary measures regarding disease with these due to last year's problems. This will include some new soil.

In self-watering containers--

bush cukes

mini eggplants

mini melons

mini bell peppers

basil

Other-

pumpkins of some sort (have a couple of different types of seeds already)

radishes

onions, particularly scallions

garlic

horseradish

thyme

broccoli--probably a couple different varieties

cauliflower

lettuce

spinach

turnips

carrots

sunflowers

snap peas

peas

peppers

---again need to do research here--we've never had good luck with peas or peppers. I'm hoping a self-watering container will help with the peppers.

flowers/herbs (some for companion planting)

borage

nasturtiums

sunflowers

poppies (a couple varieties--we love these)

hollyhock

calendula

lavender

Hoping our perennials come back strong this spring.

We also have some other things coming this spring that I ordered back in July from Raintree. I have an email in to them to confirm what's coming, because I can't remember anymore, LOL.

Fall Plantings

So, obviously, it's been awhile. I guess at some point, I just ran out of steam. The garden continued producing, might actually still give up some treasures if I should venture out and dig them out from under the snow, but, most likely, we are done for the season. Up until just a week ago (December 3), we were still harvesting some lettuces, a few radishes, and turnips from our garden. Turnips are new to me. I've never eaten them before. I like them. I've eaten them raw and roasted with potatoes and carrots. Not everyone here shared my enjoyment of them, but I'm thinking if I prepare them right, more might. They grew heartily this fall when nothing else really managed. It didn't really freeze until late, but was unusually cold. Of my fall plantings, they were the only things that really produced, aside from the second-to-the-last planting of lettuce. The raised beds, which were left untouched by rabbits in the spring, were feasting grounds (apparently, I never actually witnessed them) in the fall. I imagine those bunnies greatly enjoyed those precious radish, lettuce, and carrot seedlings when everything else was dying off or had grown too tough for their liking.

Also planted this fall, 3 lingonberry bushes, 3 blueberry bushes, half a dozen lipstick strawberries. The berry bushes are dwarf varieties that we are hoping will eventually spread and serve as groundcover on the hill. The lipstick strawberries are a shade variety with bright pink flowers. They are apparently not especially prolific producers, but I am hoping to fill in an area previously covered in myrtle in the front beds of the house. Hopefully, all of these and numerous new shoots from the strawberry plants we grew last summer will tolerate the winter.

Now, our garden beds and new plantings are covered in over a foot of snow. I am already thinking and planning for next year. Unfortunately, I didn't get the garlic and horseradish I had hoped to plant this fall.

I got a few seed packets when I ordered the fall plants and also pre-ordered a few things for spring planting. I can't even remember now what I ordered, LOL. I know there was bamboo in there.

I hope to post soon on our lessons learned this season.