Short weekly update

Not too much went on this week since I was sick.  The seedlings are all coming along fine, the weather had been beautiful & I took the plastic off of my hoop house.  The grandkids were here on Saturday and Pop helped them plant potatoes.  They used the big tubs/totes & planted Yukon Gold, Kennebec and Red Pontiac.  Everything went very well without me, except Pop forgot to wet the mix before planting the taters & had to dig them out, wet the mix and start over, but no biggie.  They all had fun. 

I'm finally feeling a little better, so maybe tomorrow will transplant some lettuce & spinach.   After being in bed for over a week, I probably won't get too  much done.

Garden craft ideas

I am always looking for low-cost craft & decorating ideas for my garden. The latest one I found is so adorable.  It is a wind chime made from a coffee mug!  You may have the perfect cup at home, or find something unique at your local Goodwill or thrift store.  It is super simple to make.

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 Search Amazon.com for garden craft

You can find the directions at Crafty Chica's blog.  She has lots of great ideas.  

I plan on making a couple of these.

The flu has taken full control.

Hi everyone.  I'm still Poor Pitiful Pearl.  I've had the flu for over a week now and am getting mighty sick of it.  I've done nothing on the gardening front, except checked the hoop house to keep it vented - yesterday was in 60s.  I checked my seedlings this morning and coleus, celery, dahlias, more onions, rhubarb & some other things are coming up nicely.  I need to transplant some lettuce, maybe I'll feel like it this weekend. 

Lowe's has BOGO seeds

I went to my local Lowe's and lo and behold they had ALL seeds buy one, get one free.  It's about time they caught on to what gardener's want & that we need them in the early Spring, not after we have already bought what we need for the season. 

AN INTERESTING LINK FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO SFG:  Gardener's Supply Company Kitchen Garden Planner.     This is very easy to use and best of all FREE.

If you have never visited Mel Bartholemew's official Square Foot Gardening forum, you really should.  Whether you are a seasoned gardener or a beginner, there is a wealth of information there & the friendliest, most helpful people.  

Update for the week.

I have been sick this week, just a cold, but at the Square Foot Gardening forum someone posted a video on cleaning leeks.  I had 3 big ones from last year's planting, so I decided Potato Leek soup would be really good.  Here's the one I pulled up & fixed.  It really was yummy soup. 

I'm bored

It's windy, rainy & 52, but feels much colder, so I've been doing nuthin' much. 

I got my Comstock-Ferre seed catalog a few days ago, so have been reading it.  Yes, actually reading it from cover to cover, even varieties I am not the least bit interested in.  Being "old", I love old stuff & the catalog has 3 pages of history that was really interesting. FYI, the Gettle family of Baker Creek Seeds, recently bought the seed company & will have their 200th anniversary on June 5 in Connecticut.   DH said no, he would not take me, but we will see about that.  You've heard the saying "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? 

Anyway, I only thought I was through with my seed order for the year.  Here's what I have on my list now:   Dates given are from the catalog.

ARTICHOKE: Green Globe.  1846
BEANS: Lazy Wife pole bean 1880s, Black Valentine pole 1850s.
BEET:  Albino.  Thomas Jefferson grew this one. 
CABBAGE: Danish Ballhead. One of the hardiest cabbages, will plan for Fall planting.  1850s.
LETTUCE: Strawberry cabbage lettuce. 19th century French heirloom introduced to USA in 1906.
MELONS:  Banana, 1885.  Pineapple. T. Jefferson also grew this one.  Said to be good for training on a trellis.
ONION: Wethersfield Red - 1700's

TOMATOES: Since I only have 10 varieties of tomatoes started, I need to make it an even dozen:
Ponderosa -  1891. Low acid, large fruits
Sparks Earliana: 1900

WATERMELON: Stone Mountain:  Introduced by Hastings Seed, Atlanta, GA in 1923.  One of the top commercial melon of 1930s & 40s, now nearly extinct.  Since it is a "local" melon, I'll give it a try.

It's a good thing I have 10 acres & don't have to be bothered with working my day job any more.

Time for dreaming

Need I say more?  Seeds have sprouted, now just 3-4 more months til harvest.  (That was depressing, such a long time to wait. )

Are you wondering when you can start planting?

Spring is a little closer for some of us than others, and I know we are all itching to get out & play in the dirt.  I found three great resources for finding out when to start your seeds.

If you don't know what your last frost date is, Dave's Garden has a great tool where you only have to put in your zip code, find it here. 

Now you are ready for the really neat part.  In the past You Grow Girl had an Automatic Seed Starting Chart, but it is no longer on their site.  I had downloaded it previously and the link is still active  (click "open", not "save", then click "ok" on the next two windows):    You Grow Girl Automatic Seed Starting Chart .   At the top you just enter your frost date with the CURRENT year and it automatically fills in your dates. This one only has routine vegetables, but Johnny's Selected Seeds has one that is a little more in-depth and includes several flowers and herbs:  Johnny's Seed Starting Chart.